Something you need to keep in mind and never forget is that when you exercise, you are training for life. You still may spend an hour a day in the gym, although that will still leave another 23 hours or so for your muscles to function without using any fancy equipment.
Whenever you do any type of exercise, the movement of your body during the exercise is known as the range of motion. The more difficult the range of motion is, the more effective the exercise will be, because your body has to work twice as hard to perform the movement.
Take for the instance the classic dumbbell bicep curl. If you aren’t familiar with the exercise, it is performed by standing up straight with your palms facing forward, and a pair of dumbbells held down by your sides. You’ll contract your biceps to bring the dumbbells up to your shoulder height, then repeat the exercise as many times as you wish.
Using that same movement for exercise on a bicep curl machine, you should sit down, brace your upper arms on a pad, grasp 2 handles that are in front of you, then perform the same movement as above to move the handles in an upward motion.
Now, looking at the muscle contractions in this exercise, you are contracting essentially your biceps if you are using the curl machine, and that is pretty much all you are doing. When you use the machine you are sitting down, which will limit just how much your shoulders give. The machine has several muscles used in this exercise limited to the biceps, as well as the muscles in your forearms and fingers.
Most of the time, when using machine weights, you will always be limited as to what type of exercise you can perform. You must always follow a strict procedure, which is pretty much the same with free weights. Unlike free weights, machine weights offer a certain degree of resistance.
One of the best thing about free weights is the fact that you move a little chuck around to select the weight you want to use. Instead of dragging it over to your exercise area, you simply select it on the machine. When you are tired during a workout, this can be a blessing.
A lot of people argue in the fact that free weights are the best for your body. While this is normally true, many people out there feel that machine weights are the best. There are pros and cons with both machines, although free weights have been around a lot longer and have been proven time after time to achieve dramatic results.
Body builders for example, have used free weights over the years to build very impressive bodies. If you ask most of them about machine weights, they would probably laugh at you and tell you that you need to quit joking around.
In a nutshell, free weights will use more of your muscles than the machines do, which makes them more effective overall. This doesn’t mean that the machines are a waste of use, as they offer some great advantages. In some cases, it is best to stabilize the muscles that are being used in a movement, which is where machines are the best to use.
The decision on which to use for you should be based on what you hope to achieve with lifting weights and where you plan to use the equipment, such as home or at a gym. Both systems are great for your body, although the free weights are best to use if you want the best possible workout, and always ensure that your muscles are getting the right workouts they need.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008 at 10:14 pm and is filed under Beauty Inside, Healthier Body, happierlife. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
I agree with the idea that free weights are more effective in building muscles, but I’ve found that some personal trainers ignore the psychological factors that people deal with when they are working out. For example, I like to walk around the track and many folks would find that to be boring. I also like to use weight machines for a similar reason…I don’t have to focus on the exercise as much as I would if I were using free weights. Also, there seems to less of a possibility of injury with a machine. Not everyone is as committed to exercise as a personal trainer and I for one am glad that we have both options.
I also think that it depends on your comfort level to. A lot of women I know who never lifted before are intimidated by the free weights. They know the importance of weight training, but are not sure how to get started.
I think the best thing they can do is to take a resistance training class at the gym or get a workout dvd. The dummies series have a great workout dvd called “Shaping Up with Weights for Dummies.” A beginner dvd that talks about proper form that you can use at home with 3 and 5 pounds dumbbells. If you are pass 50, you might want to start with 1 and 3 pounds dumbbells because if you have never strength trained, you have significantly less strength that younger women. Seriously, once you start strength training and start to see some bicep muscles, you get hook.
I think they both can be used effectively, depending on what you’re trying to achieve. I do think in many cases that the machines are safer for lifting heavy weights, especially if you don’t have the luxury of a spotter. Plus I see a lot of people (mostly guys) who use muscles they shouldn’t be using when they are lifting free weights, whereas using a machine adds some stabilization as to not injure your back and such. I think it’s best to learn the correct range of motion and technique on the machines, then to graduate to the free weights.
The bad part about certain machines is that you can cheat on them if you have a stronger arm or leg. The other one is just there for the ride half the time. Free weights corrects this.
I agree free weights are more effective for people looking to build muscles. But beginners should start with machine exercises and once they are comfortable with it, they can move to free weights. Certain injuries like back injury can be worsened by using free weights so in such cases, machines can be of great help.